


Daedric Alphabet: from Ayem to Zyr

by Aldariel



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Dunmer - Freeform, Gen, Lore - Freeform, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2018-12-14 22:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11792454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aldariel/pseuds/Aldariel
Summary: Notes of an Imperial scholar living in Morrowind; a drabble collection.





	1. Ayem – Ash

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ascended_Sleepers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ascended_Sleepers/gifts).



“Grey is the colour of mourning,” she said in a deep gravelly voice. “For when the flames of our life flicker out, only the cinders are left for those who remain in the middle world.”

“Though our very skin donned its sorrowful garments when the Great Ashkhan was slain, it is known that he will come again to make good his promises to the Tribes, eager to drive the outsiders from the Sacred Land of Resdaynia. Beware, Imperial! The day shall come upon you when you will regret ever coming here!”

Her words left an ashen taste on my tongue.


	2. Bedt – Bones

“My late great-grandfather was named after serjo Tanval Indoril,” he said, toying with his amethyst amulet, “one of our greatest heroes of Second Era. Have you ever heard of him, sera?”

I nodded and mumbled something about the Second Akaviri invasion - somehow this mer intimidates me even without trying.

“My ancestor’s bones, as well as the bones of his glorious namesake, lay in the foundation of the Ghost Fence,” he claimed, unperturbed, “so that their noble spirits could guard the Law and the Land from the Blight of Dagoth Ur. You see, sera Strabo? Even in death we remain loyal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Great Ghost Fence created by the Tribunal to hold back the Blight incorporates the bones of many heroes of the Temple and of the Houses Indoril and Redoran who dedicated their spirits to the Temple and Clan as their surrogate families. The Ghost Fence also contains bones taken from the Catacombs of Necrom and the many battlefields of Morrowind." (c) 'Ancestors and the Dunmer'


	3. Cess – Cave

“I’ll try to explain it in simpler terms,” she smiled mischievously, “as one outlander to another. Imagine that you live chained to the wall of a cave, unable to see anything except for the shadows projected on this wall. That’s what being a mortal means. The Warrior-Poet wrote that all cities are born of solid light, for even the Triple-Blessed Vivec is only a shadow of the City casted on the middle world by the radiance of our Lord’s godhood.”

“And what if I somehow manage to escape this cave?”

“Then you achieve CHIM,” she shrugged, “and become a god.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vivec’s quote is from [Sermon Twenty-Five](http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:36_Lessons_of_Vivec,_Sermon_25).


	4. Doht – Darkness

“I can’t imagine how your esteemed patron has managed to convert you to Dunmeri faith, my lady,” I said, perplexed, “if worshipping the Tribunal truly means that you accept being doomed to darkness.”

“Our mortal bodies are chained to the middle world, that’s true. But shadows have no power over us.”

“How so?”

She gifted me with her strangely sweet orcish smile and explained:

“The loyal ones are taught how to see the divine, guided by meditation. Or arts, including the art of war. Or lovemaking.”

I saw her pupils dilating, darkness consuming her eyes.

And I embraced it gladly.


	5. Ekem - Empire

“So, honeybun, you are the cartographer employed by our good prince Helseth, am I right?”

“Oh, that would be my uncle, messer Verilius Strabo. I am but his humble assistant.”

“Stop selling yourself so short, sweet Attius! False modesty is the worst form of arrogance.”

I nodded, bemused.

“Do not let your beloved geography fool you, darling,” he advised me later, “Morrowind is NOT the Empire. You have to love and respect this land, or else it would do to you what Boethiah did to Trinimac. Have you heard of it, cutie pie?”

Serjo Curio is a curious man indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boethiah [is believed](http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Trinimac) to have "eaten" Trinimac and assumed his shape so the Daedric Prince could convince a throng of Aldmer to listen to him, which led to the creation of the Orcs and Chimer. After Trinimac was defeated and consumed, it is said Boethiah tortured his spirit in her belly. The Daedra Lord eventually grew bored and instead exiled Trinimac to a plane of choking ash. This torture and dishonor left Trinimac twisted and enraged; he faded and was reborn as Malacath (also called Mauloch).


	6. Hefhed – Fear

A carriage. A cage. A  _ creature _ : strangely misshapen, as if it was molded from clay to resemble a human being but later was squashed by a petulant child.

Looking at its skin covered in festering sores, thick yellow pus leaking from them, I felt I might just faint.

“That must be corprus,” my uncle declared, “a local disease caused by the Red Mountain’s ash. Incurable, as far as I know, though a Telvanni wizard named Divayth Fyr have been doing research into its nature for years. He pays good money for each new test subject.”

“Fyr?” I thought. “How appropriate.”


	7. Geth – Guar

“ _Born from the wrong end of a guar_... do you even know what that mean?”

“Well, of course! It’s an insult which metaphorically compares…”

I stopped, embarrassed.

“Initially it was ‘ _the wrong side_ ’,” Savos said, smiling slyly. “For when my Chimeri ancestors were nomads, they passed their nights within a circle formed by their sleeping guars. Everything outside of that circle was…”

“Savos, stop bothering the boy and come help me with southern regions!” uncle Verilius called impatiently.

And then I deserted: I’m not a prude but I’d rather not see their guars dancing.

One _accident_ was more than enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Fine words from one born from the wrong end of a guar" is an insult heard [in-game](http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Anhaedra).
> 
> Attius alluded to Crassius Curio's book _"The Dance Of The Three-Legged Guar"_.


	8. Hekem – Hearth

When Savos doesn’t try to embarrass me to death, he teaches me… well, everything, from the right way to drink sujamma (licking a saltrice sprout is an absolute necessity!) to Dunmeri language.

“So, how would you translate _Ald'ruhn_?” he asks.

“The Elder Home. Or The Elder Hearth-Hall, if I’d take a more literal approach.”

“ _Ruhn_ is a curious word, Attius. It shows us that _home_ is not a building or a place. Home is where your light is kindled.”

And then he turns to my uncle with _that_ look on his face…

That mer will be the death of me!


	9. Iya – Ideal

“Our gods still remember how to be mortal,” Ishrun explained, smiling slightly, “and that’s why their hearts are filled with compassion. They understand our weaknesses… and they reward our greatness.”

“Our saints know the bitter taste of defeat,” she also said, “and that’s what makes them truly inspiring. Take Lord Nerevar, for example, who used to be a caravan guard. He was ambitious, or else he would have never aspired to unify Resdaynia. Bold and uncompromising, for otherwise he couldn’t have hoped to succeed. Cruel, if necessary. Proud, as a ruling king should be. Not infallible, no, and yet… _perfect_.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ishrun is an orsimer lady mentioned in ["Cave"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11792454/chapters/26779566) and ["Darkness](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11792454/chapters/26804922), who was converted to Dunmeri faith by a member of House Indoril; Ishrun's patron made an appearance in ["Bones"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11792454/chapters/26731476).


	10. Jeb – Jungles

When I was at the beginning of my apprenticeship, my uncle showed me a rather peculiar map of Cyrodiil. All its names and shapes, from a gentle curve of the River Niben to sharp, unforgiving outlines of Jerall Mountains, looked more or less familiar, however...

“Some scholars blame Pelinal and Alessia for it, or Tiber’s apotheosis. Others speculate that it was White-Gold Tower’s gradual influence that changed our climate - or one of the Dragon Breaks, sudden and swift. Either way, the Nibenay Valley used to be surrounded by jungles, my boy, and maps remember. Everything is changing, Attius. Even nature.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jungles of Cyrodiil, present in earlier games, were later retconned - hence various obscure in-game theories (meant to explain this lore inconsistency) emerged. You can read about it [here](http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Cyrodiil).


	11. Koht – Kiss

I'm sketching a Silt Strider in my notebook: long, graceful legs, deep grooves on its bean-shaped carapace... I was shocked when Savos suggested _riding_ for the first time _,_ but we got used to it pretty fast. These giant fleas might look terrifying for outlanders, but they are gentle creatures – and a comfortable means of transportation.

I’m sketching a Silt Strider in my notebook: it is a (not so) perfect distraction from the sight of Savos and uncle Ver kissing on a pillow-covered sofa.

That's what I get when there is only one spare room in an inn where we stay.


	12. Lyr – Lava

It took me two weeks and countless library hours to realize that Savos fooled me - again - and his fancy hairstyles didn’t have any cultural significance.

“Why do you torment me so much?” I asked, groaning inwardly, and he distracted me with a brilliant non sequitur.

“Do you like theater, Attius? My favorite play is ‘Merry Mournhold Widow’:

 

My love is lava-hot, I know, my dear,

It's harsh and searing like volcanic storm,

Yet don’t be fooled by its unpleasant form -

The roughness doesn't make it less sincere.”

 

Savos recited another stanza before he admitted: “Flustering you is just too enjoyable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And it has a [podcast](https://www.speakpipe.com/voice-recorder/msg/x066ddbrwvwme4qk) now ^^


	13. Meht – Mother

“I hardly remember my mother,” Ishrun confessed, “but she was strong and brave, for otherwise she would have remained in her stronghold and married some orcish chieftain instead of running away… I hope she is proud of me, even though her daughter worships strange, foreign gods.”

“But kinship of spirit is stronger than kinship of blood, and so I am not an orphan anymore. My second mother is strong and brave, too, for she is the Warden and the Lover, the Face-Snaked Queen, the Wielder of Hopesfire, the Lady of Mercy - terrifyingly beautiful, cruelly inspiring… My mother is Mother Morrowind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ishrun gra-Shalib is an orsimer lady from [Chapter 3: Cess – Cave"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11792454/chapters/26779566) and [Chapter 4: Doht – Darkness](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11792454/chapters/26804922).


	14. Neht – Netch

“This woman makes a netch out of you,” Savos claimed, frowning slightly. “You’d better think twice about this affair of yours, Attius”.

Although I didn’t get the reference, that couldn’t stop me from being outraged.

“Do you have something against orsimer, muthsera? How odd,” I said, deceptively civil.

“What?” he asked incredulously. “How could you possibly accuse _me_ , of all people, to have a prejudiced view on interracial liaisons? _This_ has nothing to do with it!.. Ishrun Gra-Shalib’s patron is an Indoril Councilor, while we are affiliated with a Hlaalu prince. This friendship may bring you more harm than help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Homilies of Blessed Almalexia](http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Homilies_of_Blessed_Almalexia)
> 
>  
> 
> The Wounded Netch
> 
> A wounded Netch lay himself down in a quiet corner of his feeding-ground. His healthy companions came in great numbers to inquire after his health, yet each one helped himself to a share of the fodder which had been placed there for his use; so that the poor Netch died, not from his wounds, but from the greed and carelessness of his erstwhile friends.
> 
> And so it is clear that thoughtless companions may bring more harm than help.


	15. Oht – Oblivion

The morning was grey and damp like old, unchanged bedding, and the atmosphere in our rented rooms wasn't pleasant either. Savos was still quite cross with me for calling him a racist, while uncle Verilius, unnerved by our animosity, preferred to hide behind the walls of his work. Hence I wasn’t willing to venture out in pouring Mournhold rain and picked a book.

It turned out the tome was written by Savos himself.

“Our greatest fear is oblivion,” I read, “not  _ the  _ Oblivion. True scholars would rather die than let themselves be erased and forgotten.”

...I apologized to him afterwards.


	16. Payem - Patriarchy

“We used to be better than this - freer, for it goes hand in hand with worshipping Boethiah, Mephala and Vivec. Nobody could tell my people whom to love or how to love, nobody would dare! But we are a nation robbed by our greed… shocking, coming from a Hlaalu dunmer, but hear me out! Money, lands, slaves; seeing other people as tools, as goods… Aye, this perspective cannot but corrupt a soul: it starts with workers and ends with your own children, traded and sold in order to get more money, lands, slaves…”

Drunk Savos is something to behold, indeed.


	17. Quam – Queer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Achtung Bitte: controversial daedric headcanons_

“My lady, I have to admit that I, a worshipper of the Nine, do find your Dunmeri gods rather… queer.”

“I would consider it a compliment,” Ishrun responds, smiling mischievously, “for your Imperial gods have a lot to learn from ours, since Azura is the lady of those who do not seek sexual pleasure, Boethiah represents willful transition between genders, Mephala inspires those who do not wish to be confined within gender binary and Vivec is love incarnate, freely given regardless of anything... even if sometimes our duty to the Law and the Land demands that we sacrifice our desires.”


	18. Roht – Reverence

I saw a public execution today, appalled but equally fascinated - more so by the crowd gathered to witness a man burned alive, rather than the grim sight itself: solemn and strict Ordinators, armored and armed as if ready for battle; nobles, clad in their bright festive garment of silk and velvet; jubilant commoners openly wearing the purest joy on their faces - and a proud priest in her Tribunal robes, conducting the whole spectacle.

“Who was this man?” I asked afterwards, thinking about blasphemers and heretics.

“A child rapist.” 

And then I finally understood what it was - a promise of protection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The drabble was inspired by a headcanon of AeAyem / boethiah posted [here](http://boethiah.tumblr.com/post/168824573646/hey-do-you-think-public-executions-are-done-in).


	19. Seht – Sand

When I was a little kid - I do not recall all facts and figures but my father was still alive, so I must have been no older than six - I read a wonderful novel about a slave rebellion led by a gladiator of Vivec Arena. I knew it was pure fiction - and nevertheless the story was so sincere that I could not help believing in it…

Can you imagine the whole extent of my disappointment when I found out that slaves were  _ never _ allowed to fight on the Arena?

Only free people can spill their blood on its holy sand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Arena" means "sand" in Latin.


	20. Tayem – Tea

“What's that?” I ask, sipping cautiously. The taste is bitter but not unpleasant.

“A calming tea of trama root and scathecraw.”

“Well, that’s  _ tisane _ ,” I correct her absentmindedly, “since there are no tea leaves involved.”

The woman looks irritated but Savos - as usual - saves the day.

“Don't worry for our shared journey, muthsera! Verilius and I are much more pleasant company than young Attius,” he says and in a loud stage whisper confesses, “You see, our son is adopted - he inherited this maddening pedantry from neither of us!”

I laugh so hard that  _ trama tisane  _ comes out of my nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A potion of Trama Root and Scathecraw restores Willpower.


	21. Yoodt – Ulcer

Unlike our glorious Imperial City, there are almost no beggars on the streets of Vivec - no gaunt children or crippled soldiers, their skin riddled with bleeding ulcers and their mouths chanting pitiful laments...

“As an institution of power, the Temple is far from being immaculate, but they do look after our poor and dispossessed,” Savos explained to me once, “and they do it rather well, as far as I see.”

“Deeply indebted people are simply sold to slavery,” Ishrun mentioned much later, as if unknowingly arguing with my… with Savos.

But I’m in love with this land, its ulcers notwithstanding.


	22. Vehk – Vermilion

“You remember Ratis?" Ishrun asks, leading the mer in question to our secluded table. She smiles faintly, her dark lustrous eyes alight with mischief, and I nod: even though I'm pleasantly _not sober_ , this Dunmeri friend of hers is hard to forget - he’s sturdy, yet graceful, his strong facial features shadowed by a tattooed hand...

However, one handshake and two brandy glasses later I’m completely lost in thought.

“Your eyes are of purest vermilion, Savos,” I overheard my uncle during their weird foreplay once. “I'll draw all of Morrowind’s lava rivers with it.”

Why did I even remember this now?


	23. Web – Wrestling

Spending an evening with Ishrun and Ratis was truly enjoyable. It was obvious that they knew each other for a long time, and yet I never felt excluded. We drank, we talked, we joked - Ratis happened to have a deadpan sense of humor I really enjoyed - and then my companions suddenly started an impromptu arm wrestling contest. I quickly lost count of wins and losses, marveling at the taut muscles rippling beneath smooth skin - both olive green and dusky gray...

“Would you like to join us upstairs, Attius?” Ishrun asked me a couple of drinks later.

And I agreed gladly.


	24. Xayah – Xenophilia

I would lie if I claimed that I didn’t understand the nature of their proposition.

I would lie if I claimed that I was aware of what to expect...

It was obvious that they _knew each other_ for a long time, and yet I never felt excluded.

“We found out that fangs get in the way,” Ishrun whispered, nibbling on my earlobe, and Ratis sank to his knees before me.

I had never tried what Bretons call _l'amour à trois_ before, or even ventured this far with a male, for all that matter - but the experience proved to be _mind-blowing_.


	25. Yahkem – Yesternight

When I woke up, I fled - the tavern, my lovers, everything. It wasn’t out of regret, for I didn’t feel shame, only… confusion.

I fled, blindly and hurriedly - and somehow I found myself confessing to Savos.

He listened to me carefully, cradling my hung-over head on his knees, while uncle Ver was looking for a  _ special potion _ in a nearby alchemical store, and when I finally ran out of words, he gave me the best advice:

“There is no shame in feeling confused. Take your time, but try not to overthink everything. And remember - there are no wrong answers here.”


	26. Zyr – Zest

I came to Morrowind almost two years ago, brought here by my uncle’s zest for our craft as well as his craving for  _ grey meat _ . And who would have thought that I could find such a crude joke amusing instead of being appalled by its vulgarity?

My younger version wouldn’t expect me to brew this weird Dunmeri punch with my  _ lovers _ either...

“Orange zest gives it sweetness,” Ratis explains when I put a hand on his waist.

Ishrun is the first to sip our concoction, and her kiss leaves a sweet, tantalizing taste on my tongue.

I am finally home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every journey comes to an end at some point - thank you for walking it with me :)


End file.
